There is a lot to be said for using your brains. And honestly not enough people do so. Because of lawyers and affirmative action policies the rest of us are afraid to use what we have. There are many who would have us all believe that discernment and discrimination are the same things as stereotyping. The next time you apply for a job pay special attention to the equal opportunity statements on the application. Employers practically promise to hire anybody. And once just anybody gets into a place and they've realized their mistake there is little that they can do to correct it.
Discernment and discrimination are shades of the same concept. Both imply a conscious and careful observation to the details a person presents in an interview and should begin with the first time that the prospective new hire is seen. It isn't enough to know that a person is physically capable of doing the work. They have to show some mental capacity above that of a turnip or rutabaga. That does not mean that a person has to have a college degree to drop a fry basket at McDonald's. That is the kind of thing that those laws were meant to stop. What I mean is that there are ways of determining if a person is intelligent without relying on the status of a degree. I don't have a degree and I wouldn't want anyone to assume that I am only smart enough to drop a fry basket. But I hate working with peole who chose to limit themselves to the barest functions of life. Intelligence can be seen in other more telling ways:
1. Handwriting. Oh I know. Handwriting analysis is akin to witchcraft and divination in a lot of people's minds. But it does help you build and idea of a person. Basic handwriting analysis is all you need as an HR director or hiring manager. Sloppy, uncoordinated letters without obvious physical deformity in an adult reflects immaturity or laziness. Large letters with unnecessary flourish which obscures the instructions in the boxes on the application scream "Pay attention to me!" and should tell you that you are looking at some form of a diva who will become very high maintenance. Hearts dotting i and j or replacing o scream immature. Shaky lines say no confidence.
2. Spelling and text short cuts. Short cuts on the application more often than not reveal the tendency to take short cuts in all areas. Spelling more than one or two words wrong on the application either says "I can't bother to concentrate on this" or "I don't know better." In the first case I need not elaborate. In the second there is a double edged sword. Not every applicant has to be qualified to take down the national spelling Bee Champ. But if your applicant can not spell the simple words that are most often filling those answer boxes you've got someone on your hands that isn't really going to be thinking a lot.
Astrology and Birth Order tell a lot about people. I'm not talking that crap in the paper. I mean a basic understanding of the Sun signs. You'll see who the natural leader is, who will follow quietly, and who will follow and not let you fall on your ass. Sun signs will tell you who your Geordie LaForge, Counselor Troi and Commander Rikers will be. Birth Order will point out how to pair people. Astrology is ubiquitous enough that I won't explain it here. But let me hit the highlights on the birth order.
1. Eldest Sibs have a strong sense of duty, direction and care about their fellow employees. The draw back is that the eldest is often taken advantage of because they will do everyone's work to keep the parents happy and protect the youngsters. One of the greatest advantages to the eldest is that they will follow the dream for the business and get behind the boss. The flipside is that if they ever get to the point where they feel that they have been ignored by the parent/boss or that they aren't being heard when the warnings are given they tend to give up.
2. Middle Sibs are the peacemakers and will tend to be walked on by the younger ones while trying to get attention by downplaying what others do. Some middle sibs with a good sense of themselves will just be great workers who keep to themselves.
3. Youngest Sibs. These are the attention-getters, braggers and the first to make more of their contributions than there really ever is. The highest population of gossips are going to be among the younger sibs in the work environment. Drama surrounds them.
5. Only child. These guys are the wild cards. Either headstrong and independent like an eldest sib or weak-willed and needing constant supervision.
Hand in hand with the birth order and astrology signs is understanding the Introvert and Extrovert personality. This will determine to what degree these attributes manifest. Neither is good or bad in and of itself. But it will help a hiring manager figure out who will be easy to work with and who will cause problems.
And this is weird. Oh c'mon! This is me we are talking about. You have to know this was coming. Phrenology and Physiognomy. Basically these admittedly pseudosciences suggest that the traits of a persons face reflect the truest nature of character. Someone with a blank stare or bulging eyes that blinks on rare occasions may have very little going on upstairs. The logic in that statement is that intelligent people are observant. Observant people are always taking in information which is revealed by eye movements and an expression of interest in what is being said. On a more complicated level which approaches rudeness is the observation that certain mental impairments cause rictus in facial muscles which set jaw lines, mandibles and brows into permanent sculptures.
I have to say that it is not the judgement of science that is rude but rather the frank language that makes it less than sympathetic to the feelings of individuals concerned in the observation. But that said, one can not ignore that there is much truth to these observations. In no way am I implying that people who do not possess "ideal' and "pleasing" characteristics do not deserve a job or should not be permitted to contribute to society. I am only saying that there is a place for them in the world but that not everyone has to be subjected to them.
I have of course two examples in mind. One is a friend from long ago. She had bright eyes and showed interest in life. Something happened in college and she hasn't been the same. Her facial muscles are rigid and she does not show emotion outside of the extreme. She has no ready smile. She looks bored and disinterested in everything including her friends. She should not be a Walmart greeter, hair stylist or a front desk receptionist. I don't know what she should do instead of the job she does have. It doesn't suit her. Her guest service job requires engaging people. When I have to deal with her I feel like she is in a hurry to get rid of me even if I haven't gotten everything settled when I leave.
The other example is of someone with the rictus of the intellectually impaired. Her whole head sticks out over her neck in an unnatural way, her teeth push her mouth out and stretch her lips thin. Eyes deep set under a thick brow probably don't really indicate intelligence so much as past ethnic pairings but her level of intelligence does coincidentally reflect old phrenological treatises. The fact that she often is found staring at coworkers with what can only be described in the modern vernacular as "creeptastic intensity". When she is angry this expression hardens so that she resembles a rabid badger. Suitable for the factory but not so much for working directly with customers, she seems the poster child for reinstating the study.
There are a hundred thousand little clues in the naked city that tell you what people are like if only one would pay attention. These are some of the profiling items I have used in my Internet dating adventures. And I have not regretted the choices when I've applied them. If it makes you feel better about me I do feel horrible that I am so judgemental. But I have to tell you I am relieved to be free of toxic personalities. As an empath I attract them like bees to wildflowers. But you have to know who to walk away from and from whom to run. Employers who don't make any attempt to do more than fill a spot with a warm body do their business and the staffers that care a disservice. Some kinds of profiling have to be okay.
Don 't they?
Footnotes: I first learned about Phrenlogy from my Bacons comprehensive encyclopedia of printmakers plates. It is a several hundred page book of wonderful etchings used to illustrate everything from the early 1800's. Dover recreated the compilation and put it out there for all of us budding artists to drool over. Michelle found her copy at Borders and I had to scramble to get the last copy. It is since out of print.
No comments:
Post a Comment